The Bonito (Thynnus Pelamys) sometimes visits the British coasts, and has been taken in the Firth of Forth. Couch mentions one which was brought into Whitehaven in Cumberland, and a small specimen 20 1/2 inches long became entangled in a trammel net at Plymouth. In form it very much resembles the short-finned tunny, but may be distinguished by having clearly-defined stripes beginning at the gill covers and running towards the tail. There is a variety {Pelamys sarda), termed the Plain Bonito by Yarrell, in which the stripes or bands are found on the back, and take an oblique direction. This also has been caught on the British coasts, and there is not much doubt that some of the very large mackerel which have been recorded by professional fishermen are small specimens of this fish. It is plentiful in the Mediterranean, the Black Sea, and the Atlantic Ocean.

There is also a bonito without stripes, known to naturalists as Auxis rochei. It is regularly fished for in the Mediterranean during the summer. In shape and the form of its fins it more closely resembles the common mackerel than either the tunny or striped bonito.